You'd Have To Get A Mortgage!
by Kronoskingofthemonkeypeople
Summary: What if the Devil was never in the Satan Pit, the TARDIS was never found and the Doctor had to get a mortgage? Rose and the Doctor would have to get a job, get a place and, well, live together. Blatently 10/Rose.
1. Chapter I

**You'd Have To Get a Mortgage! – Chapter I**

Rose looked out to the panorama in front of her. Dark solid buildings rose up and spread to the furthest reaches of the horizon. In the middle of the megopolis was a white tower, brilliantly catching the rays of light that were otherwise absorbed by the surrounding blackness. The place hum with movement as thousands of cars flew through the streets that were powerfully illuminated by what looked like flood lamps, suspended on the side of every building.

"New Klomtown." Zachary, the interim captain, gave a deep breath and grinned as he looked out before him. "Home sweet home!" Zachary looked over to Rose, who in turn looked over to the Doctor.

She could tell the Doctor didn't feel the same way. He stood rigid, as if the world was falling around him, with a curious expression on his face, kind of like he had eaten something hideously disgusting, but was desperately trying to hide that fact. If someone else had seen him they would have mistaken it for condescension, but Rose knew better. She put out her hand and wrapped it in with the Doctor's, giving it a meaningful squeeze. "I'm right here with you." Rose smiled at him.

The Doctor gave a smile back. If there was a silver lining here, it was that he and Rose could finally stay together, without the overhanging dread of something happening to her.

"Ok then," Zachary continued. "Doctor, if you want to come with me, I'll take you to Torchwood with me and Ida. We've got to deliver this energy to the chairman and while I'm there, I'll suggest they hire you. God knows they'll need someone with your brains."

"And I'll help Rose look for a place." Scooty interjected. "There's always something going around Terrence Flat."

Rose looked a bit confused. "Hold on, we don't have any money."

"That won't be a problem." Danny shrugged. "Just get a credit card."

"But like won't that require information and stuff?"

"What do you mean?" Scooty looked baffled. "There's a vendor on every street."

Rose raised an eyebrow as Zachary ran out to traffic and stopped what looked like a taxi. The flying vehicle screeched to a halt and Ida and Zachary jumped in, calling out to the Doctor to follow. With a look that distinctly said _help me_, the Doctor looked back to Rose then got into the car.

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Rose walked into the front room of her new apartment and looked at the floor. Carpet. She grinned at the irony then walked into the kitchen and stared in the metallic fridge to see what sort of food Danny had bought her. Luckily, he had got alcohol. Lots of alcohol, because in all honesty, a stiff drink was all she really wanted right now. Well, _nearly_ all she wanted.

She heard the lock on the door open.

"Honey, I'm…. oh. Carpets."

Rose popped her head out from the kitchen to see the Doctor standing in the doorway, staring at the cream and fluffy floor. "Hello stranger! Got a job?"

"It seems so." The Doctor edged in and closed the door behind him. "Never understood the whole Japanese-businessmen-suicide thing before, but now I think I'm beginning to sympathise."

The Doctor took off his coat and threw it onto one of the sofas. Shoving his hands in his slim pant pockets he then collapsed onto the sofa and stuck his feet on top of the plastic coffee table.

"So!" Rose clasped her hands together. "Want a drink?"

"What is there?" The Doctor looked up.

"Well, let's see." Rose opened the fridge again and looked through the myriad of bottles. "There's something called _Shufflemalt_."

"Oo. Dangerous stuff. Woke up the morning after in custody for trying to do the Charleston with Sir Lady of Clientele."

"Ok then," Rose shuffled the bottle of Shufflemalt aside, trying to block out images of the Doctor dancing, which would remind her of something else… "There's Ponk."

"Bingo!" The Doctor lit up.

Rose walked back into the front room and chucked a bottle of the alcoholic liquid to the Doctor then sat down beside him. "So, what do you do for a living?"

"_I,_" The Doctor exclaimed after a having a swig then handing the bottle over to Rose. "am in charge of Energy Efficiency and Standards."

"Wow." Rose rolled her eyes. "Kill me now."

He took the bottle out of Rose's hand and took another swig. "Turns out this Torchwood place is a kind of energy Business Empire. It's that white building in the middle of the city. Ridiculously rich, and of course powerful, which makes sense in this era; where energy is quite sparse and _very_ influential."

"Kind of like the oil-problems back home."

"Kind of like, but thousands of times bigger. No wonder they had such a drastic mission to find energy as that with the black hole. This place needs it."

"Well it's not like they're trying to conserve energy though; I mean, look at this place. Even the street lights look like they're in full blast."

"Human beings. You never learn."

"Hey!" Rose elbowed him in the side playfully. The Doctor lit up with a grin, the happiest she'd seen him in a while. His brown eyes caught hers, and for a second they fixed on each other, the Doctor's insides beginning to tighten as he moved a centimetre towards her.

"Right!" He suddenly pulled away, embarrassed, leaving Rose to quickly look away and play with the bottle of Ponk. "We should ah, go to bed. Not together, I mean, but I mean I should go to sleep, and so should you…If you want, that is." The Doctor got up from the sofa and headed down the corridor.

"Doctor, there's just one problem!" Rose called out to the Doctor quickly.

He appeared in the front room again, hands in pockets. "There's only one bed."

"It was the only place available. Sorry." Rose, in fact, had lied. There was another place across the road with two bedrooms, but she knew this was too good a chance to let slide.

"That's fine." The Doctor nodded. "You have the bed, I can take the sofa."

"What?" Rose exclaimed, a bit to frantically, she thought. She tried to contain herself. "I can't do that to you, I mean, you're the one with the big job. You need a good night's sleep."

"I'm a Timelord." The Doctor shrugged pompously. "A good night's sleep is for lesser beings."

"Thanks." Rose said sarcastically. Putting the bottle of Ponk on the coffee table, Rose got up from the sofa and walked over to the corridor. "So I'll ah, see you in the morning then."

"Yup." The Doctor remained standing, hands in pockets.

"I'll head off to bed then. Night."

"Night."

Rose turned around and opened the door to her room, but she could swear she saw the Doctor, in the back of her eye, take a step towards her, then quickly stop and turn back around.

She may have been stuck on some futuristic earth, with no TARDIS and the prospect of once again living a normal life, but she now had the Doctor exactly where she wanted him.

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**NB: Ok, so – explaining. Well, yesterday I watched Impossible Planet/Satan Pit (great episodes, may I just say) and the thought came, what if they never found the TARDIS? What if it wasn't the Devil there? What if Rose and the Doctor really did have to get a mortgage? Hence; this fic. Cause I really felt like writing a Doctor Who fic, and my other one, "Best Laid Schemes" didn't seem to be going anywhere, seeing as how it was a Rose Returns fic, and Rose had already returned in the real series. Therefore: backstep! And all that 10/Rose goodness!! So, pop a line and Review, great to hear if you've got any ideas, and yeah, just review! Because reviews save a kittens life, make my world go round and stop me from reading spoiler spoilers for the season finale (which is kind of pointless because I think I may have been spoiled-out already. I'm like some sort of giant Taint Monster. Ooo…that could be a good idea…) Anywho, review!! **


	2. Chapter II

**You'd Have To Get A Mortgage! – Chapter II**

Rose slipped out of her bed. She didn't know what time it was, but the apartment was quiet, and her internal clock told her it was time to wake up. Then again, seeing as how she was timed to timelessness of the TARDIS, her internal clock was probably useless now. Real life was going to need some getting used to.

Seeing a ray of light peek through the crack in her bedroom door, she guessed it was somewhere near morning. Rose crept up to the door and opened it. Tiptoeing down the small carpeted corridor she peered into the front room, to see the Doctor still sleeping on the sofa.

His pinstripe jacket lay on the coffee table while his white converses where strewn on the floor. For some reason, he was still wearing his blue tie, although now it was loosely hanging off him, his shirt also loose as the three top buttons where undone.

For all she could tell, he didn't look comfortable. His arm was propped up ridiculously over his mess of brown hair and his head slung sideways with his mouth gaping open, emulating a faint snoring sound. Rose smiled slightly then tore her gaze from the Doctor and headed to the bathroom. If he kept insisting to sleep on the sofa, surely one day his Time Lord pride would have to slip, and he'd realise he needs somewhere far more comfortable to sleep. Though hopefully, not after he goes out and buys another bed.

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The Doctor snorted awake.

Wiping an embarrassing bit of drool falling down his cheek he looked up at the boring ceiling. He seriously hadn't expected the couch to be this uncomfortable. He was the Doctor for god's sake – he never actually needs to sleep. Sleep is for the weak, the weary. And yet, there he was on a sofa, feeling dead tired with a sharp shooting pain coming from his lower back.

He was becoming domestic. Or – hopefully – it was because the sofa was ridiculously cheap and dreadful. In his head he pleaded for the later.

Pulling himself up he ruffled his hair then wandered drearily to the bathroom, hoping a splash of water would do him good.

"OI!"

The Doctor closed the bathroom door as suddenly as he had opened it.

He had seen, just for a second, Rose. Rose, it seems, with no clothes. Naked. Biting his lip, the Doctor remained rigid, hand still wavering over the door handle, not really sure what to do.

The bathroom door opened again, and Rose stood at the other side, free hand holding the wrapped towel around her soaking body.

"Hi!" The Doctor squawked, ears burning red. "Sorry about that – didn't see anything. I promise."

Rose raised her eyebrow playfully, obviously not caring what the Doctor did or did not see. "Good morning to you too." She moved past him into the corridor and could tell the Doctor gulped down hard.

"So," She continued as she walked over to her bedroom. "Get a good night's sleep?"

"Terrible." The Doctor blurted out behind her. She turned to face him as he began to saunter towards her. "I may have to take up your offer on that bed of yours. I think there's enough room for two."

It was Rose's turn now to gulp down hard. The Doctor's face had changed from embarrassment to cheek. Realising there was now very little space between them, Rose clutched tighter onto her towel.

"Oops." The Doctor suddenly tore away from her gaze and looked at his wrist as if there was a watch on it. "Seems I'm late for work!" He raised his eyebrows melodramatically. "I'll see you this afternoon then." He winked flirtatiously then brushed past her, leaving her in the corridor.

"Hm." Was all Rose seemed to get out, then regaining her senses she rushed into her room and put her back against her closed door with a deep sigh.

Cheeky bastard. He probably knew exactly what he was doing. Figures.

This was going to be a bit harder than she'd thought.

Then again, also a bit easier.

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**NB: Right, yes, I know – a bit of a short chapter, but I just wanted to get that out after doing the DW rounds on the internet, and needed to stop myself from looking at the Planet Gallifrey blog. Evil, **_**evil, **_**Planet Gallifrey!! So yes, the Doctor had a terrible night's sleep. And also, very successfully seduced Rose. Which we all know he is very good at. Cause, I mean – look at him! **

**Sorry, fan girl out of control. Anywho; what to expect from next chapters – the Doctor cooking! And ahh….well, can't really think of much else right now. But I can tell you there's going to be a plot line somewhere. Ah yes! A plot! I have a think about plots it seems, can't write anything without one. Always admire people who can write those hilarious and random oneshots. Just can't do that, me. **

**Sorry. Babbling now. Will stop. So, so far expect cooking and plot. And me cooking up a plot. Geddit??**

**Right, will really stop now. To make me shutup and think of better ways of writing this story – REVIEW!!**


	3. Chapter III

**You'd Have To Get A Mortgage! – Chapter III**

**Disclaimer: I own Doctor Who, I own the BBC, I am Russel T. Davies and I am currently going out with David Tennant. **

Rose pressed one of the hundreds of buttons on the elevator then shot up through the tall building. After a few seconds the metal box jolted to a halt at her floor. The door opened to reveal a small metal robot, who looked kind of like a miniature tractor with a small hose connected to the side of it. Rose stared at it for a second; as for some reason she could swear it looked at her and rolled it's eyes. Backing out of the elevator, Rose looked curiously at the robot again as it rolled in to the elevator, looked up at her again then shook its metallic head.

It wasn't until the elevator doors closed on the robot and she smelt the waft of burning that she figured out what the robot was on about.

Running down the hallway she crashed into their apartment. "Doctor?"

"Hm?" The Doctor's head popped nonchalantly out from the kitchen.

"What was that robot with a hose just doing here?"

"What robot?" The Doctor tried to avoid the questions, still hiding his body away in the kitchen.

"That robot I just saw coming on the elevator."

"Oh! That robot. Oh, he just came round for a um…. friendly neighbourly chat?"

"Doctor," Rose put her hands on her hips. "What happened?"

"I may have blown up the oven."

"WHAT?" Rose ran into the kitchen as the Doctor retreated into the corner to see a black metal carcass in between the other white goods and counters where the oven used to be. "What happened?" She swerved to the Doctor.

"I, ah…" He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I decided I was going to make you dinner. You know, food, because we, well, we live together, and stuff…then I remembered that I can't cook, and also that I don't particularly like cooking and, well – this." He motioned to the wreckage.

To his surprise, Rose didn't shout at him or anything, instead, she just smiled. "You were going to cook me dinner?" She beamed warmly.

"Well," The Doctor shuffled nervously and shoved his hands in his pockets. "_Was_, I think, is the operative word here."

"It's the thought that counts." Rose continued to smile at the Doctor then turned to look at what remained of the oven. "How did you manage to blow it up anyway?"

"I don't exactly know." He stared at it in deep thought. "Does seem to happen a bit too often to me though."

"What, blowing up ovens?" Rose asked jokingly.

"Gordon Ramsey was not a happy chappy." The Doctor crouched down and stared closer at the metal carcass. "Problem is though – what are we going to eat now?"

"What you think's in here?" Rose raised up a strange plasticky bag that was in her hand. "I got us chips!"

"Chips?" The stood up in surprise.

"Hot, greasy, plain old chips!"

"Seriously? 10000 years on and it still comes down to chips?" The Doctor raised his eyebrow as he watched Rose sit down on the kitchen table. "I really need to get more variety in my life."

Rose scoffed as she opened up the bag of chips and spread it out on the table. The Doctor shook his head lightly then turned to the fridge and took out something that resembled wine and grabbed two small glasses, placing one with Rose and the other on the other side of the table.

"So," Rose asked after the Doctor had finished filling up both their glasses and sat opposite her. "How was work today?"

"Utterly boring." He took a sip of his drink. "I've got an office and everything. Me! In an office!" Rose couldn't keep the smirk off her face. The Doctor looked away dreamily. "Maybe I could somehow blow up my desk…"

"Cause that would definitely help with the job."

"Well, we're working with energy. What could be more energetic than destroying you office like you have ADD?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did…" Rose murmured into her drink. "Speaking of energy – you find out where they're getting all their power yet?"

"No," The Doctor munched on a chip. "Not yet…but I will." The Doctor sighed. "This is going to take a lot of getting used to."

Rose smiled softly. "You wouldn't be you if it didn't."

He looked at her thankfully, obviously glad that it was Rose, out of everyone in the universe, who was sitting opposite him, eating chips. He sighed again. "I don't know…I don't think I've ever really had a home. I mean, there was Gallifrey but even before… When it was still there I wouldn't really call it home. Most of the times I couldn't wait to get away. Sometimes even forced into exile. It was my planet, but it wasn't my home. That was the TARDIS. But, gone now…"

"Hey," Rose put out a comforting hand onto the Doctor's. "It was my home too."

He looked at her sarcastically. "And that's really going to make me feel better now."

"Yeah…" she furrowed her brow. "Probably didn't help."

The Doctor looked at Rose thoughtfully for a second then laughed, which took Rose by surprise until she began to laugh with him; laugh at the most ridiculous situation they have ever been in – normal life.

"To Domestic Bliss!" The Doctor trumpeted as he held up his glass.

"To Domestic Bliss!" Rose giggled and they banged their glasses together then sculled the rest of their drink.

The Doctor quickly picked up the bottle again and started to refill the glasses generously. Rose just smiled playfully. "Trying to get me drunk, Doctor?"

"Blast!" He raised his eyebrows melodramatically. "You've seen straight through my cunning plan!"

--_ 6 drinks later --_

"_Sprrring time for Hitler, and Germany!_"

The Doctor was standing on the plastic coffee table in the front room, wearing one shoe, his jacket tied around his waist, belting out show tunes as Rose was left on the couch, constantly giggling as she held tightly onto the nearly empty bottle of Ponk they had moved onto, wearing the Doctor's blue tie around her head.

"_Deutschland__ is happy, and gayyy -!_" The Doctor had flung out his arm dramatically, but it had only made him loose balance and fall on the floor to the laughter of Rose.

"Oof." He propped himself from a heap on the floor. "I wasn't planing that."

"Come on!" Rose refrained from giggling and held out her hand to the Doctor. "You've had too much to drink."

"You can talk, Rose Tyler!"

"I know. Which is why, I'm heading off to bed. Unless you want to stay here and drink alone."

"I'm not that much of a depressed drunken businessman missy!"

"I'd give it a week. Come on." The Doctor took her hand and they both pulled themselves up, but the momentum couldn't be stopped when they were standing, and they ended up in each others arms, clutching tightly.

"Ah…" The Doctor murmured as he looked down at Rose, just inches from his face, their bodies up against one another. "Maybe I should sleep on the couch.."

"Oh! Don't be daft!" Rose rolled her eyes and unlocked from the Doctor, heading to her bedroom.

The Doctor watched her leave then shook his head, trying to get it clear. He really shouldn't have drunk that much. Although, because he was him, he knew the effect would only last a moment until he sobered up. If something else doesn't sober him up before that. He really needed a cold shower…

The Doctor shook his head again, trying to get the thought out of his head. Untying his jacket from his waist, he flicked off his only shoe, unbuttoned his first few shirt buttons, flicked his hand through his hair then headed over to Rose's room.

Stepping in to the dark room, he noticed Rose was already in the bed, wrapped up underneath the covers. Taking in a deep breath, the Doctor closed the door behind him then headed to the other side of the bed and slipped in behind her. "Shove over a bit."

"Wha'?" He heard Rose snort with laughter next to him. "Like you need any room!"

"Hey!" The Doctor said, hurt. "I'm quite sensitive when it comes to my size!"

"Trust me," He heard her voice in the dark. "You've got nothing to worry about there."

The Doctor rolled over to his side and faced Rose, staring at him from under the covers. Who knows how long they remained there, happily looking at each other in silence and the dark, until a thought came upon the Doctor.

He looked at Rose seriously. "How long are you going to stay with me?"

She smiled. "Forever."

They were about a clasp hands when suddenly the ground beneath them shook hard. The bed began to rock as the walls vibrated and instinctively the Doctor grabbed Rose and held her tight in his arms.

Suddenly the shaking stopped, and all was still. Rose looked up at the Doctor in surprise. "Was that an earthquake?"

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**NB: DUM DUM DUMMM!! Yes, sorry bout that rude interruption, but this is Rose and the Doctor; all they seem to be about is rude interruptions. Maybe I should do a fic about them being constantly rudely interrupted. Wait, that's already been done. And quite fantastically too. Sorry, just scrap that whole paragraph. **

**Anyway – I shouldn't be thinking about another fic, I should be putting all my thought into this fic (and of course my other fic I'm currently writing called "Best Laid Schemes" about the Doctor finding Rose again with the help of Donna, Martha and Captain Jack…) **

**Shameless Self Promotion: CHECK!**

**But yes, if you like, hate, or moderately dislike: REVIEW!! If you really don't giving a flying foot: REVIEW!! **

**I'm getting a free trim and highlights! HIGH FIVE!!**


	4. Chapter IV

**You'd Have To Get A Mortgage! – Chapter IV**

The Doctor leapt out of the bed and Rose gave a frustrated sigh as his hand left hers; yet another moment lost. Throwing the bed covers away, she got out of the bed and followed the Doctor into living room. As he peered of the small window, Rose turned on the light switch so she could see better in the dark room. The light didn't turn on.

"Damn." Rose muttered. "The electricity's gone down. Oh well," She wandered over to the Doctor, "you think it was an earthquake?"

"Probably…" The Doctor murmured, looking up and down the dark streets of the city outside. "Wait – hold on; what did you say?" He quickly turned to Rose.

"I said the power's down."

"That's not possible."

"You wanna try and turn on the light? Just look outside, all the street lights are out too."

The Doctor didn't bother to look out at the dark street when suddenly the lights flickered on and his face was illuminated by the brightness outside. "It's not possible." He reiterated.

"It was an earthquake, obviously a few cables were cut down." Rose shrugged.

"If that's so, how was the power up again so quickly? And it still doesn't explain the fact that the power went down in the first place – because it can't. This city uses Cross-Proton Strings instead of wiring. No earthquake of any scale could break that bond. Something is wrong."

"Trouble?" Rose lit up with a grin, excited about the prospect of another adventure together.

"Oh yes!" The Doctor grasped her hand in his. "Come on! Let's go to work!"

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Taking a taxi, they listened grudgingly to the drivers rant about the earthquake and the power shortage, but as they first caught a glimpse of the shining white Torchwood tower, the driver's speech just became white noise. Both Rose and the Doctor's hearts began to quicken as they sped though the roaring traffic, their headlights flicking across their faces, but never overpowering the flashes of white that appeared through the dark overhanging buildings. It was the excitement of another adventure together, the two of them. Crashing together, the taxi took a hard right, and as they propped themselves up properly on the seat again, they could see the tower rise up triumphantly in front of them, until it encompassed their view.

"Here you go!" The primordial taxi driver stopped his rant and pulled up besides the glittering entrance.

"Thanks!" The Doctor cried and jumped out of the vehicle.

"Oi!" The thing grunted. "Where the hell's my money?"

Rose rolled her eyes and pulled out the credit card she got from the vendor and handed it too the driver. With a sparkle in it's eye the driver swiped the card and handed back to Rose with a crooked grin.

"Thanks miss!" It said with what Rose guessed was it's kindest facial expression.

Quickly, Rose jumped out of the taxi and was about to follow the Doctor when she was struck by awe. She could tell the tower was big, but up close – it was huge. Glancing up the precipice, it seemed like it went on and on forever. It looked solid, as she could see nothing that looked like a window, but it was hazy in a way, as if a giant cascade was trickling down the side of the building, but there was no water. Shaking her head, Rose ran up the marble steps to catch up with the Doctor, who was now standing in the giant entrance way. As she reached him, the Doctor took hold of her hand and together they entered into the vast foyer.

Instead of the white stone that made the interior, the foyer was made of a dark marble. It was a wide hall, and at each side there were multiple elevator for the vast number of Torchwood employees. But since it was the middle of the night, there was no one there. The echoing footsteps of the Doctor and Rose didn't much help with the eerie feeling. At the end of the foyer, was the Torchwood logo, engraved into the dark marble and towering over the empty space. Below it, somewhat unnoticeable, was a little 'i', and below that was a small hole in the wall, and inside it, Rose could see there was a person.

The Doctor walked briskly up to the information desk and pulled out something from his coat pocket. "Dr. John Smith: Energy Efficiency and Standards." Rose looked up and saw it was not psychic paper the Doctor was holding, but for once in his life – a real identification card.

The information person's eyes, which had before been closed, now suddenly opened. "Good evening Doctor! How may I help you?"

Rose could now see that it wasn't an actual person in the hole in the wall, but simply a torso, looking like it had simply been placed in the enclave, as there was solid marble beneath it.

The Doctor took in a breath and put his card in his pocket then leaned on the wall, eyes shining as he stared at the torso. "A number of things thanks. First off – since I am, well, in charge of Energy Efficiency and Standards I've got some qualms about earlier this night when the energy, may I say, was not terribly efficient."

"You are describing the power cut of 23:43 this evening?"

"I am indeed. Now, tell me – what cause the power failure?"

"It was a simple disruption due to the earthquake that occurred at 23:42."

The Doctor's face became stern. "Now, don't get funny you big old torso. You might not be armless but don't get legless with me. New Klomtown's electricity grid is made from Cross-Proton Strings. An earthquake would definitely not cut that connection, and you know that. Or, maybe you don't." The Doctor looked quizzically at the torso's blank face. "Get me Control."

"Do you have codeword clearance?"

"I am the Doctor, I have all the clearance in the world. Now, get me him."

The torso closed its eyes again for a second then opened them, a new expression on its face.

"Hello?" A new voice came from its mouth.

"Hello!" The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets. "Control, it's Dr John Smith here. I've got some questions concerning the power shortage that occurred just a second ago."

The torso looked at the Doctor for a second then shrugged. "Oh yes, the earthquake. Completely out of our control."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow. "But you know it can't have caused the power cut."

"Well, normally, yes. But this evening we've been plugging in the power retrieved by your friends into the power grid. It was unstable to begin with; so a little rumble caused the whole thing to go down. Only momentarily, of course."

Rose looked over to the Doctor, who looked sad, as if he had just been slapped in the face. "Oh." He murmured. "Right."

"Sorry about the fuss." The torso tried to offer helpfully.

"Oh no," The Doctor forced a smile. "Just, you know, doing my job."

"Excellent." The torso smiled kindly. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow at work, Doctor!" and it closed its eyes once more.

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The Doctor lay on top of the bed, staring at the ceiling as his hand were clasped together on top of his stomach. Rose sat cross-legged on the other side of the bed, looking down at the Doctor sadly. They had been there for a while, just in silence.

"I could swear something was wrong." The Doctor suddenly broke the silence, still staring at the ceiling.

"Maybe.." Rose tried to start. "I mean, I know this is wrong; coming from me, but maybe you were just looking for trouble. Maybe you just miss your old life. Our old life."

"It doesn't make sense." The Doctor furrowed his brow. "900 of travel and I always wondered what it was like to have a normal life. Always jealous of those who could get a job, get a house, meet someone, get married, have kids, grow old together, live together…. But now that I finally have that chance…" Rose bit her lip awkwardly at the mention of marriage and kids, one thing before she thought she would have in the future, but since she met the Doctor, she didn't really know anymore. Surely he wouldn't be into that kind of stuff? The Doctor sighed. "…I don't know. Maybe I'm just too used to my lifestyle, I can't shake it off. I should be embracing this." He looked over to Rose, and their eyes latched on. "The one adventure I could never have, and now I've got it."

Rose tilted her head, then, slowly tucking the strand of blonde hair behind her ear, she uncrossed her legs and lay down next to the Doctor, holding him tight. The Doctor unclasped his hands and put her arms around her, secretly closing his eyes for a second, so he could breathe her in.

"You'll be alright." Rose tried to soothe, her head perfectly fitted to his chest, allowing her to fall asleep to the rhythm of two heartbeats.

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**NB: AW, isn't that sweet? Gotta say though, wouldn't mind being in that position. Wouldn't mind being in that position at ALL! Meaning, Rose's position. Not the other way round. Just, I mean, to clarify and stuff…**

**Ok, that went nowhere. **

**Anyway, poor Doctor. Still can't let go of his old life. Cause let's face it, who could? I still can't let go of travelling and that was like 7 months ago! So, he's handling it the best he can. And good ol' Rose is right there with him!**

**In case you haven't noticed.**

**Ok, it seems I have run out of things to say in this NB. Why aren't I just stopping writing then, you ask? Well, good question. I haven't got the foggiest. Maybe I just like typing. Oh look! A giant W! And it's right between Q and E! Now that's just COOL!**

**God, SHUT UP! Sorry. To make me shut up, press the "Write Review" button just below, and, well, review. Does make sense. Just do what it says on the label. Like canned soup. Campbell's! Review!**


	5. Chapter V

**You'd Have To Get A Mortgage! – Chapter V**

The Doctor quickly shut his eyes. Rose's had just fluttered open, so he needed to pretend he was asleep, and had not spent the past few hours just staring at her contently as she slept wrapped up in his arms, her slow breaths warming a patch above his right heart.

He had been pondering his situation. A domestic life, with Rose. For some reason, she transfixed him. It wasn't like with other women he was struck by; Cleo, Madame de Pompadour, even Romana – this was different. She was just a normal human being, but to the Doctor she had become so much more. She had saved him. The Time War had broken him down completely, shattered every aspect of who he thought he was, but being round Rose suddenly made him feel whole again. No wonder he regenerated into a bright young thing after meeting her, he needed to show how much she had transformed his life, for the better.

Just a tiny insignificant human.

As he snuggled her closer in his arms, three words instinctively formed in his mouth, but as he gazed at her blissful face, the words disappeared. "Oh," he thought with a content sigh, "she knows."

Right now he was trying his hardest to imitate sleeping, pretending he did not notice Rose had awoken when he heard faint snort.

"You stink." A playful voice sung at his ear.

"What?" The Doctor's eyes shot open as said defensively. There was Rose, just inches from his face, her face still resting on his chest with her eyes shining at his.

"No, I'm serious." Rose tried to keep back a laugh as she pulled back from the Doctor's armpits. "You need a shower. And you really need to wash that suit."

"What's wrong with the suit?" The Doctor exclaimed in a slightly too high pitched voice then brought his nose down to one of his arm pits and sniffed. "Oh." he quickly pulled his face away. "I get it." He looked at Rose. "How on earth did you sleep with me then?"

"What can I say?" Rose shrugged playfully as she edged out of the bed. "A lot better here with you than on the couch. Anyway, you needed comforting."

"What!" The Doctor shot out at Rose as she walked over to the bedroom door. "I did not!"

"Oh, admit it you big sook – you needed a hug." Rose opened the door and gestured outside. "Now: shower."

The Doctor pouted for a second then got out of bed and followed Rose out into the hallway as he headed to the bathroom with Rose marching behind. As he walked into the bathroom, she halted at the door.

"I'll need your clothes."

The Doctor suddenly blushed. "What? Now?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Just throw them out of the door before you have a shower."

The Doctor closed the door on her as Rose waited outside in the hall. Pacing for a second, she tried to resist the urge of opening the bathroom door and joining him in the shower. Those kind of thoughts of hers were hard to keep back after the incident of New New York, when even though she was pushed back to the corner of her mind, she had still felt the kiss. And that kiss…well, let's just say it inspired a whole lot of new thoughts about her Doctor.

Suddenly the bathroom door opened to reveal the Doctor, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, holding out his brown suit.

Rose bit down hard. After all their travels together, this had actually been the first time she had seen him with out his suit or jumper on.

"Rose?" The Doctor knocked her out of her thoughts as he stared at her curiously. "You wanted my clothes?"

"Yes." Rose tried to shake herself out of it. "Right." Quickly she grabbed the bundled up suit from the Doctor's hand and scattered off to the kitchen as fast as she could.

Why the hell did the Doctor have to regenerate into someone so damn attractive?

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The Doctor leaned on his office desk and sighed. He had been at work for three hours now and he was bored out of his wits. If he had to get a job, he'd have preferred it to be more technical, or maybe a teaching job. But, he didn't have any connections or credentials outside Torchwood, and he needed the money to pay off the mortgage on the apartment. Apparently accommodation in New Klomtown is easy to find, but bloody hard to keep.

Taking a sip at the protein that was kind of like coffee, the Doctor flicked through the interactive files and was about to call his assistant when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" The Doctor called then looked up at the door. "Rose!" He said with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Rose sauntered in and sat down on the chair in front of his desk. "Just wanted to know if you'd like a bite to eat. Need to celebrate something."

"Celebrate what?"

"Celebrate that you haven't yet blown up your desk and celebrate my new employment!"

"You got a job! Where?"

"Just a pub down the road. It's nothing much, but it's something to do."

"Well," The Doctor sighed. "Seems we've finally settled down now."

Suddenly there was a rumble.

"What?"

There was another rumble, the Doctor's keyboard began to shake on the desk and Rose grabbed onto the desk to stop herself shaking when it went still again.

"What?" The Doctor looked around, confused, when he jumped out of his chair and ran out of the room, Rose following.

"I knew it!" Rose suddenly heard the Doctor shout out in front of her as he ran towards the elevator, though the stunned mass of employees gathering in the office space.

"HA!" The Doctor stopped with a giant grin as he pressed the down button and turned to Rose. "Didn't I tell you I was a genius? Never get anything past me, that's what!"

Rose just looked coolly at the Doctor. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

The Doctor looked at her meekly. "Well, I mean…. maybe…. possibly…. Oh look! The elevator!" He quickly turned away from Rose and shot into the metal box, with Rose in hot pursuit. Pressing the ground button, the elevator doors closed and the box plummeted down, flicking past the hundred floors. After a few seconds there was a ding and the doors opened, revealing the vast foyer.

The foyer was in chaos. The once grandiose empty space was now filled with office workers, confused about emergency exit procedure or just curious about what was happening, their thousand voices drowning out the dull footsteps on the dark marble floor.

The Doctor flicked his eyes through the mess of people then something caught his eye outside. "Come on." He grabbed hold of Rose's hand. "Let's get some air."

Weaving through the crowd, Rose and the Doctor pulled through the arguments and conversations to the great doors and hurried outside.

Surprisingly enough, there were only a few people outside on the white marble steps compared to the crushed conditions outside, but this was not the first thought Rose and the Doctor walked outside. That thought was taken by the fact that the giant what building they had just walked out of, was now glowing. Its shimmering lustre had now changed to a slight blue/green tinge.

There was another rumble as the earth moved slightly again, but before either could speak, a voice appeared behind them.

"OH. MY. GOD!!" An American voice called.

Rose and the Doctor turned around to see an attractive man with blonde hair but old eyes staring at them, dumb struck.

"Rose!" The man continued to shout, even though he was a few metres away. "And, I'm guessing – the Doctor! Jesus Christ guys, it took you long enough!!"

The Doctor just looked at him strangely. "I'm sorry – who are you?"

"Hey," The man said defensively. "You can't blame me for looking like this. It's not my problem I need constant cosmetic surgery. Thought it was all great having eternal life until I figured out I got the aging thing still."

The Doctor's eyes began to narrow. "No…" he murmured. "It can't be…"

"Who?" Rose quickly turned to the Doctor. "Who can't it be?"

"You saying you don't remember me Rose?" The man flashed a charming smile at her. "Union Jack? Glenn Miller?"  
Rose's eyes shot open. "JACK!" She rushed over to Jack and engulfed him a huge hug then quickly pulled apart. "Hold on – why the hell are you here?"

"I'm here waiting for the Doctor. I gotta say, thousands of years living here is bloody hard, though it did get better as the years went by. The city got a little more livelier."

The Doctor didn't move. "You waited for us _here?_"

Jack grinned. "You gotta be impressed with my consistency."

There was another rumble, this one stronger. Rose grabbed onto Jack as the ground shook hard, but the Doctor swung round to look up at the building, now glowing brighter, a stern look on his face.

"That means…" The Doctor's eyes sharpened. "This isn't just New Klomtown – this is Cardiff!"

Suddenly a shaft of green light shot out of the Torchwood building and the ground had a violent shake, dropping them all to the ground.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

**NB: HAHAHA!! See; never, ever doubt the Doctor. He knows when there's trouble a-brewin', and trouble there is! And there is also Capt'n Jack! Love him. With blonde hair! Got that idea after a reviewer reminded me of blonde John Barrowman singing "Springtime For Hitler". Love it. **

**So yes, New Klomtown is actually Cardiff. Or Cardiff mark 2. And you know what that means, eh! HEHEHEHE!!**

**Indeed. **

**So, what else happened in that chapter? Ah yes, Rose and the Doctor. I know all the domestic stuff is good for them to process their relationship, but methinks this bit of trouble might move things along. Methinks. And, you know, Captain Jack's always good to ruffle a few feathers. **

**But now I might as well shut up and let you find out what's going to happen by yourself. Cause if I tell you now, what the hell is the point of reading the story, eh?**

**I like to make points. Which brings me to my next point: Which is to review! Reviews are my sustenance. So, don't make me anaemic! Give reviews! **


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